[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3444 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3444

   To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure that 
    consumers receive information about the nutritional content of 
                           restaurant foods.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 5, 2003

Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. 
   Emanuel, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, and Mr. 
    Owens) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure that 
    consumers receive information about the nutritional content of 
                           restaurant foods.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Menu Education and 
Labeling Act''.
    (b) References.--Whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
other provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Research continues to reveal the strong link between 
        diet and health, and that diet-related diseases start early in 
        life.
            (2) Increased caloric intake is a key factor contributing 
        to the alarming increase in obesity in the United States. 
        According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
        two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and the 
        rates of obesity have doubled in children and tripled in teens 
        since 1980. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart 
        disease, stroke, and other health problems. Each year obesity 
        costs families, businesses, and governments $117 billion.
            (3) Excess saturated fat intake is a major risk factor for 
        heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the 
        United States. While it is often thought to primarily affect 
        men and older people, cardiovascular disease is the leading 
        killer of women and kills 61,000 people between the ages of 45 
        and 64 each year. Heart disease is also a leading cause of 
        disability among working adults and its impact on the U.S. 
        economy is significant, estimated in 2001 to total $298 billion 
        in health care expenditures and lost productivity.
            (4) Increased sodium intake is associated with increased 
        risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, a condition that 
        can lead to cardiovascular disease, especially stroke. The 
        proportion of Americans with high blood pressure is 45 percent 
        at age 50, 60 percent at age 60, and over 70 percent at age 70.
            (5) Over the past two decades, there has been a significant 
        increase in the number of meals prepared and/or eaten outside 
        the home, with an estimated one-third of calories and almost 
        half (46 percent) of total food dollars being spent on food 
        purchased from and/or eaten at restaurants and other food-
        service establishments.
            (6) While nutrition labeling is currently required on most 
        processed foods, such information is required only for 
        restaurant foods for which nutrient content or health claims 
        are made.
            (7) Three-quarters of American adults report using food 
        labels on packaged foods, which are required by the Nutrition 
        Labeling and Education Act of 1990. Using food labels is 
        associated with eating more healthful diets, and approximately 
        half (48 percent) of people report that the nutrition 
        information on food labels has caused them to change their 
        minds about buying a food product.
            (8) It is difficult for consumers to limit their intake of 
        calories at restaurants, given the limited availability of 
        nutrition information, as well as the popular practice by many 
        restaurants of providing foods in larger-than-standard servings 
        and ``super-sized'' portions. Studies show that people eat 
        greater quantities of food when they are served more.

 SEC. 3. NUTRITION LABELING OF RESTAURANT FOODS.

    (a) Nutrition Labeling for Foods Eaten in Restaurants and Similar 
Retail Food Establishments.--Section 403(q)(5)(A)(i) (21 U.S.C. 
343(q)(5)(A)(i)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
``except that food, beverages, and meals served in restaurants and 
similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain with 20 or 
more outlets doing business under the same trade name, regardless of 
the type of ownership of the restaurant locations, shall list, adjacent 
to each food item listed, on menus, menu boards, and other signs, the 
total number of calories, grams of saturated plus trans fat, and 
milligrams of sodium per menu item, as offered for sale, in a clear and 
conspicuous manner,''.
    (b) Nutrition Labeling for Foods Prepared in Restaurants and 
Similar Retail Food Establishments but Not for Immediate Consumption.--
Section 403(q)(5)(A)(ii) (21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(A)(ii)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ``except that such food, beverages, 
and meals when it is processed and prepared primarily in a retail 
establishment that is part of a chain with 20 or more outlets doing 
business under the same trade name, regardless of the type of ownership 
of the restaurant locations, shall list, adjacent to each food item 
listed, on menus, menu boards, and other signs, the total number of 
calories, grams of saturated plus trans fat, and milligrams of sodium 
per menu item, as offered for sale, in a clear and conspicuous 
manner,''.
    (c) Vending Machines; Restaurant Menu Boards.--Section 403(q)(5)(A) 
(21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(A)) is amended by adding after and below subclause 
(v) the following:
``For purposes of the exceptions described in subclauses (i) and (ii), 
nutrition labeling may be limited to the total number of calories for 
foods, beverages and meals offered for sale in vending machines and 
posted in restaurants on menu boards.''.
    (d) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        shall issue proposed regulations to implement the amendments 
        made by this section within 12 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act. Such regulations shall require the 
        required information to be conveyed to the public in a manner 
        that enables the public to understand its relative significance 
        in the context of a total daily diet. Not later than 24 months 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
        shall issue final regulations to implement the requirements of 
        such subsection.
            (2) Failure to promulgate final regulations by required 
        date.--If the Secretary of Health and Human Services does not 
        promulgate final regulations under paragraph (1) upon the 
        expiration of 24 months after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, the proposed regulations issued in accordance with 
        paragraph (1) shall be considered as the final regulations upon 
        the expiration of such 24 months. There shall be promptly 
        published in the Federal Register notice of the new status of 
        the proposed regulations.

 SEC. 4. VOLUNTARY PROVISION OF NUTRITION INFORMATION; STATE REGULATION 
              OF NUTRITION INFORMATION FOR RESTAURANT FOOD.

    (a) Retail Food Establishments.--Nothing in this Act precludes 
restaurants and similar retail food establishments from providing 
additional nutrition information, voluntarily, provided that such 
information complies with the nutrition labeling requirements contained 
in section 403(q)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
    (b) State or Local Requirements.--Nothing in this Act precludes any 
State or political subdivision of a State from requiring that 
restaurants and similar food establishments provide additional 
nutrition information beyond the requirements of this Act.
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